What is oral psoriasis?
Although commonly thought of as a skin problem, psoriasis can develop in other places too, such as inside your mouth. Whilst this isn’t life threatening, it can be very uncomfortable and hard to diagnose, due to it being such a rare condition. In this blog post, we will look at the symptoms of oral psoriasis and how we can treat this condition.
What are the symptoms?
The symptoms surrounding oral psoriasis are often hard to diagnose, as it such a rare condition. The symptoms are often mild and fleeting, causing doctors to deliberate what the symptoms of oral psoriasis actually are at all.
Generally speaking, the signs of oral psoriasis appear inside your mouth, most commonly on the inside of your cheeks in the form of red patches of skin surrounded by yellow or white edges.
Other tell-tale signs of oral psoriasis include:
- Skin peeling from gums
- Blisters or pustules
- Burning sensations or pain, particularly when consuming hot or spicy food
- Change in how food and drink tastes
Oral psoriasis has also been known to be connected to other conditions that affect the mouth, such as developing a fissured tongue, red patches developing sporadically on your tongue (known as Geographic tongue) and developing swollen and infected gums.
Treatment
Whilst oral psoriasis may not be very irritating for some, others can suffer with quite painful sores and require a way to ease the pain. Luckily, psoriasis can be treated relatively easily with some home remedies, such as:
- Rinsing mouth with lukewarm water and salt
- Avoiding spicy foods
- Stopping smoking
However, if the psoriasis is still causing discomfort and persists, it may be time to consult your doctor, who can prescribe medicines, such as steroids to ease the pain on sore areas in the mouth, suggesting mouth wash to lower the acidity in your mouth, or prescribe pills that can reduce the symptoms causing irritation.
If you are concerned about your oral health, why not contact Loughborough dentists today to see how we can help you!